Hakuhodo's third annual Sei-Katsu-Sha survey of consumer attitudes
and behaviour in the region has found that Asian consumers may be
becoming more like Japanese consumers.
In last year's study, Hakuhodo researchers showed that rising incomes
and the greater participation of women in the workforce pointed to a
growing number of women who aspire to cool, more detached and less
socially-embedded lifestyles.
This year's study, based on a larger sample, seems to point in the same
direction and the trend is being driven by the maturing economies of
Asia, said Hakuhodo strategic marketing director Satoshi Oyama.
"As a country develops onto higher economic levels, people become less
socially involved and more involved in individual things," he told
MEDIA.
The study revealed important basic similarities between Japanese and
other Asian consumers including low scores on wanting to be leaders or
to stick out in a crowd and relatively high scores on wanting a stable
life.
The latest study also identified three main types of lifestyles groups
in Asia:
- The mainland China type (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou),
who are more concerned with self-fulfillment and who use personal
ability to achieve influence;
- The Asean type (Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan) ,who give
greater importance to stability, family happiness, and leading a simple
and harmonious life; and
- The pre-Asean type (the Philippines and Vietnam), who attach
importance to all the above values in addition to a desire for affluence
and to help those in need.
- The Hakuhodo study was published with the November 24 issue of MEDIA.
